Pickens County Board of Commissioners discuss senior property exemptions

The Pickens County Board of Commissioners held its regular meeting on October 20th and part of the agenda was talk of senior property exemptions.

Pickens County Board of Commission Chair Rob Jones said, “The discussion over the senior tax exemption has been heated!”  Jones went on to say, “I would like to know exactly what the cost or somewhere close for the taxpayer if the senior tax exemption goes in place.”

 

This is the current Local School Exemption – Persons age 62 or older with a combined total gross income of $25,000 or less from all sources of everyone living on the property qualify for a total exemption from School M&O taxes.   Even though the Pickens County School System’s millage rate is around 17 less than 12 is used in the Pickens County schools because of the reallocation to other areas.   According to County Attorney Phil Landrum,  a Pickens School Board member raised issue with the fairness of 6 million of Pickens County money being received by some counties  which are  granting senior exemption.  

Landrum went on to say, “It’s apples and oranges that’s not really the debate because we really do not have control over that but it is a consideration.” 

The decision was made to extend an invitation to the Board of Education to join in a joint discussion.  Landrum will write a letter to the Pickens Board of Education to invite them to begin a dialogue in the form of a meeting to discuss the exemption.   Landrum further stated he had not spoken with Georgia House State Representative Rick Jasperse but believed they would want resolutions from both County and City Governments to introduce the legislation to change the exemption.

Watch the discussion below:

All Georgia residents are eligible for homestead exemptions on their primary residence with the amount of the exemption varying in each county and sometimes also by city. These exemptions can generally save you a couple of hundred dollars a year or more, again depending on the county. Additional “Senior” exemptions (again for primary residences) are available that vary by county, in some cases starting as early as age 62 or as late as 70 this will make more sense as you get into the summaries for each county below.  When the exemptions apply to School taxes, the savings can be in the thousands! To apply for any exemptions, you must have lived in the home as of January 1 and if there is an age-related exemption, one person on the deed must be the specified age as of January 1.